Slide and way construction



H. J. BRETTRAGER SLIDE AND WAY CONSTRUCTION Oct. 19, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed May 6, 1963 INVENTOR.

r e g a r t t e r B lw y r n e H I BY XWM

1965 H. J. BRETTRAGER 3,212,827

SL IDE AND WAY CONSTRUCTION Filed May 6, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l6 1 frfiw I u Il 5-? Li L.L1 l LLL FIG3 Henry J. Brettrager IN VEN TOR.

BY ZWW, W W

United States Patent 3,212,827 SLIDE AND WAY CONSTRUCTION Henry J.Brettrager, 5410 East St., Saginaw, Mich. Filed May 6, 1963, Ser. No.277,998 8 Claims. (Cl. 308-3) This invention relates to slide and wayconstructions and more particularly to a slideway construction which iscapable of supporting a slide in any one of a number of adjustablepositions and in such manner as to assure precise reciprocation of theslide without risking galling and without necessitating lubrication.

The invention is particularly applicable to electr1cal discharge orspark erosion machinery, but it 1s equally applicable to other kinds ofmachinery where an extremely true or precise mounting and reciprocationof a slide is required.

An object of this invention is to provide a slide and way constructionwhich permits adjustment of the sl de and slide guideway in such manneras to locate the slide in any one of a number of adjustable POSI'EIOHS:

Another object of the invention is to provide a slide and wayconstruction which employs selfcontained antigalling and lubricatingmeans, thereby avoiding the necessity of providing exterior lubricationfitting and the necessity of periodic lubrications. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a slideway constructionwhich is capable of being preloaded with relation to the slide mountedtherein so as to preclude any possibility of lateral movement of theslide upon longitudinal reciprocation thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sl deway constructionwhich facilitates preloading of the slide.

Other objects and advantages of the invention Wlll be pointed outspecifically or will become apparent from the following description whenit is considered in conjunction with the appended claims and theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a view, partly in end elevation and partly in section, of aslide and way assembly constructed in accordance with the invention, thesection being taken on the line 11 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 2 is a view, partly in top plan and partly in section, of theapparatus, the section being taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a sectional, side elevational view of the slide mechanism,taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1.

The apparatus is adapted for use with a base member 1 which may comprisethe bed or a movable table of an electrical discharge or other machine,the base having a cavity 2 therein. The cavity has a pair ofconfronting, substantially parallel side walls 3 and 4 and aflat bottom5. The base has an upper surface 6 provided with a number of upstandingsupport way surfaces 7 which may be ground to provide bearing surfacesfor a movable table 8 or the like. Secured to the lower surface of thetable 8 by suitable screws 9 or the like is a slide or key member 10having smoothly finished, opposed side edges 11 and 12 which parallelthe walls 3 and 4, respectively, of the cavity 2. The slide 10 also hasa bottom surface 13 and a top surface 14 that is adapted to bear againstthe lower surface of the table 8. The slide 10 is preferably hollow andmounts a nut 15 at its rear end (FIGURE 3) which is provided with athreaded bore to accommodate a correspondingly threaded adjusting screw16 that extends through and pro ects beyond both ends of the slide. Onlythe rear end of the screw 16 is threaded and the travel of the screw issuch that the threaded portion never becomes exposed to the grittyelectrolyte of the machine.

At each end of the adjusting screw 16 is a journal mem- 3,212,827Patented Oct. 19, 1965 ice her 17 that is rotatably mounted by means ofa thrust bearing assembly 18 which is supported in a bearing retainer 19that is secured to a mounting ring 20 which may be bolted or otherwisesuitably fixed at each end of the base 1. To one end of the shaft 16 issecured a hand wheel 21 that may be rotated by a handle 22 to effectrotation of the screw shaft 16. Inasmuch as the ends of the screw shaft16 are fixed against longitudinal movement, rotation of the shaft in onedirection or the other will cause movement of the slide 10 and the table8 in one direction or the other.

Apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention includes aguideway 23 in which the slide 10 may be mounted for reciprocatingmovements. The guideway 23 comprises a first angle-shaped way member 24having a pair of sections 25 and 26 arranged substantially normal to oneanother. The section 25 preferably includes a raised surface 27 on itsinner face which is precision finished by grinding. The section 26 isprovided with socket members 28 for the reception of bolts which may bereceived in openings or slots 2a formed in the base of the cavity 2 soas to position the member 24 at a desired location within the cavity 2.

Also forming part of the guideway 23 is a second way member 29 that issubstantially planar and has a precision finished inner surface. Themember 29 is arranged to parallel the section 25 so as to form with thelatter and the section 26 a substantially U-shaped trough for thereception of the member 10. The way member 29 may be removably securedto the member 24 by suitable means such as screws 30 that are so locatedas to be received in threaded openings 31 formed in the flange 26. It isimportant to note that this method of forming the guideway provides aU-shaped way Whose interior side surfaces can be readily precisionground to size.

The close fitting of Way and slide surfaces of relatively movablemembers normally necessitates the provision of lubrication so as tominimize friction and its attendant consequences. However, if it isattempted to preload the way and slide members, antifriction members ofan expensive nature must normally be used because such preloadingsqueezes out the lubrication so that galling results. In apparatusconstructed according to the invention, a protective sheet 32 of about.015 inch in thickness is interposed between the slide 10 and each ofthe way members 25 and 29. Preferably, each member 32 is formed from athermosetting resin having high thermal insulating properties and havinginherent lubricating properties. Polymers of tetrafiuoroethylene, andparticularly the polytetrafluoroethylene polymer known as Teflon, havebeen found to be satisfactory materials inasmuch as they are tough,highly slippery, and poor conductors of heat. Another plastic which maybe suitable is polymononochlorotrifluoroethylene, which is knowncommercially as Kel-F. The members 32 are interposed between the slideand guide members in the form of sheets which are glued to the sides ofthe key member 10 with a commercially available epoxy adhesive. Themembers 32 prevent galling of the confronting surfaces of the slide andguideway, minimize the transfer of heat from one surface to another, andconstitute rigid lubricating means, thereby avoiding the necessity ofhaving to use other, more conventional forms of lubricants and fittingstherefor.

The dimension a between the interior face of wall 25 and the end ofsection 26 in this preloaded assembly is greater than the width b of thekey 10 with the sheets 32 applied. Accordingly, the overall width of key10, including the sheets 32, will be substantially .0005 to .002 inchgreater than the dimension a. The slideway 24 is provided with upperadjustable, non-yieldable, preloading screws 33 and 34 threaded into themembers 25 and 29, respectively, in addition to the screws 30, andlocated in positions remote from the section 26. The screws 33 and 34are adapted to be turned in such directions as to cause their heads tobear against the side walls 3 and 4 of the cavity 2 and react with thelatter to force the way members 25 and 29 toward one another, therebyprecisely locating the walls 25 and 29 and precluding any lateralmovement of the slide relative to the slideway 24.

Regardless of the position of the slideway 24 in the cavity 2, theadjusting screws 33 and 34 are capable of adjustment suflicient toenable the way members 25 and 29 to be preloaded in the manner referredto above. Accordingly, the adjusting members 33 and 34 are capable ofbeing utilized to eflect minor lateral adjustments of the slide 10 and,consequently, of the table 8.

The disclosed embodiment is representative of a presently prefered formof the invention but is intended to be illustrative, rather thandefinitive thereof. The invention is defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A slide and way construction comprising a base; a first way memberhaving first and second flanges arranged substantially normal to oneanother; a second, substantially planar way member having a portionoverlying one of the flanges; means securing said second way member toone of said flanges and parallel to the other of said flanges wherebysaid other of said flanges and said second way member form a guideway; aslide member slideably received in said guideway; and adjustable meansreacting between said base and said second way member and said other ofsaid flanges in positions spaced from said one of said flanges, saidadjustable means being operable to urge said second way member and saidother of said flanges toward one another.

2. A slide and way construction comprising a base; a first way memberhaving first and second flanges arranged substantially normal to oneanother; a second, substantially planar way member having a portionoverlying one of the flanges; means securing said second way member toone of said flanges and parallel to the other of said flanges wherebysaid other of said flanges and said second way member form a guideway; aslide member slideably received in said guideway; adjustable meansreacting between said base and said second way member and said other ofsaid flanges in positions spaced from said one of said flanges, saidadjustable means being operable to urge said second way member and saidother of said flanges toward one another; and rigid lubricating meansinterposed between said slide member and each of the members of saidpair of members for preventing engagement therebetween, the Width ofsaid slide member and rigid lubricating means being greater than thewidth of the guideway formed.

3. A slide and way construction comprising a base having a cavitytherein defined by substantially parallel side walls; a first way memberhaving first and second flanges arranged substantially normal to oneanother; a second, substantially planar way member having a portionoverlying one of the flanges; means securing said second way member toOne of said flanges and parallel to the other of said flanges wherebysaid other of said flanges and said second Way member form a guideway; aslide member received in said guideway; Teflon sheets on the sides ofsaid guideway; and adjustable means reacting between the walls of saidbase and said second way member and said other of said flanges inpositions spaced from said one of said flanges, said adjustable meansbeing operable to urge said second way member and said other of saidflanges toward one another.

4. A slide and way construction comprising a base having a cavitytherein defined by substantially parallel side walls; a first way memberhaving first and second flanges arranged substantially normal to oneanother; a second, substantially planar way member having a portionoverlapping one of said flanges; means securing said second way memberto one of said flanges and parallel to the other of said flanges wherebysaid other of said flanges and said second way member form a guideway; aslide member slideably received in said guideway; adjustable meansreacting between the walls of said base and said second way member andsaid other of said flanges in positions spaced from said one of saidflanges, said adjustable means being operable to urge said second waymember and said other of said flanges toward one another; and rigidlubricating films bonded on opposite sides of the slide member betweensaid slide member and each of the members of said pair of members forpreventing engagement therebetween, the length of the flange which isoverlapped being less than the width of the slide including thelubricating films bonded thereto.

5. The construction set forth in claim 4 wherein at least one wall ofsaid cavity is spaced from said slideway.

6. The construction set forth in claim 4 wherein both walls of saidcavity are spaced from said slideway.

7. The construction set forth in claim 4 wherein said lubricating meanscomprises a thermosetting resin.

8. The construction set forth in claim 7 wherein said resin comprisespolytetrafluoroethylene.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 206,648 7/ 78Tucker. 2,226,770 12/40 Holter 308-3 2,342,946 2/44 Tourneau 308-32,490,652 12/49 Sablin 308-3 2,675,276 4/54 Daugherty 308-3 2,743,9665/56 McKernan 308-3 2,766,077 10/56 Walstad 308- X 2,835,540 5/58Jorgensen 308-4 2,910,883 11/59 Reed 308-188 X 2,973,183 2/61 Alger251-183 3,037,893 6/62 White 308-14 X 3,090,173 5/63 Strickland 308-6 X3,115,696 12/63 Evans 308-3 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,266,350 9/60 France.

0 DON A. WAITE, Primary Examiner.

FRANK SUSKO, Examiner.

4. A SLIDE AND WAY CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A BASE HAVING A CAVITYTHEREIN DEFINED BY SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL SIDE WALLS; A FIRST WAY MEMBERHAVING FIRST AND SECOND FLANGES ARRANGED SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO ONEANOTHER; A SECOND, SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR WAY MEMBER HAVING A PORTIONOVERLAPPING ONE OF SAID FLANGES; MEANS SECURING SAID SECOND WAY MEMBERTO ONE OF SAID FLANGES AND PARALLEL TO THE OTHER OF SAID FLANGES WHEREBYSAID OTHER OF SAID FLANGES AND SAID SECOND WAY MEMBER FORM A GUIDEWAY; ASLIDE MEMBER SLIDEABLY RECEIVED IN SAID GUIDEWAY; ADJUSTABLE MEANSREACTING BETWEEN THE WALLS OF SAID BASE AND SAID SECOND WAY MEMBER ANDSAID OTHER OF SAID FLANGES IN POSITIONES SPACED FROM SAID ONE OF SAIDFLANGES SAID ADJUSTABLE MEANS BEING OPERABLE TO URGE SAID SECOND WAYMEMBER AND SAID OTHER OF SAID FLANGES TOWARD ONE ANOTHER; AND RIGIDLUBRICATING FILMS BONDED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE SLIDE MEMBER BETWEENSAID SLIDE MEMBER AND EACH OF THE MEMBERS OF SAID PAIR OF MEMBERS FORPREVENTING ENGAGEMENT THEREBETWEEN, THE LENGTH OF THE FLANGE WHICH ISOVERLAPPED BEING LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF THE SLIDE INCLUDING THELUBRICATING FILMS BONDED THERETO.